CBSE Class 8, Honeydew (NCERT English)

Glimpses of the Past

Solutions of NCERT CBSE Guess Questions

QUESTION:
Give two reasons that helped the British to extend their power in 18th
century.

Answer:
Two reasons that helped the British to extend their power in India in 18th
century are -

1.
Their superior weapons

2.
The quarrels among Indian princes

QUESTION:
Name a single important change brought by Lord Macaulay in the education in
India.

Answer:
Lord Macaulay introduced English as the medium of education in India. Earlier
all education in India were imparted through the mediums of Persian and
Sanskrit.

QUESTION:
How did the British cripple the Indian industry?

Answer:
The intention of the British rulers in India was to make maximum profits. To
achieve this they made import of English goods duty-free to India while, the
Indian goods were heavily taxed. Consequently, the goods manufactured in India
could not stand competition and started to lose market. Not only this, the
British used to cut the thumbs of expert Indian artisans so that they might become
useless for production. In this way the British crippled the Indian industries.

QUESTION:
What was the main reason for revolt in the East India Company?

Answer:
The salaries and perquisites given to the English soldiers were much higher
than those given to the Indian soldiers. White soldiers used to enjoy a lot of
privileges while Indian soldiers were given a pittance. These were the reasons
for discontentment among Indian soldiers in the Company’s army which finally
caused the revolt.

QUESTION:
How did Kunwar Singh of Bihar show bravery while fighting with the British? Or

Give an incidence of bravery
shown by old Kunwar Singh while fighting with the British.

Answer: Eighty year old Veer Kunwar
Singh of Bihar received a bullet in his wrist while fighting with the British.
Instead of succumbing to the injury, he just cut it off. He threw his hand into
the river Ganga saying that it was his last gift to Mother Ganga.

QUESTION: The religious leaders in India used to preach
some bogus practices in the latter half of the 17th century. What
were these practices?